Letters From Hermione
by Hermione Elizabeth Granger
Summary: This is a sequel to Hermione's From the Beginning story. Dan and Emily Granger are surprised but pleased to find out that their daughter is a witch. But when Hermione goes off to a school, a school in which they cannot be a part of her life, they have t
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's wonderful characters. They all came from her brilliant imagination, and I am not trying to steal or make money off of them.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

Dan and Emily Granger were sitting at their kitchen table early in the morning, placidly sipping their steaming coffee and reading the morning newspaper. Emily closed the section of the paper she was reading, which was headed "International." Swiftly, she knotted her thick chestnut hair into a tight bun, then got up and rummaged through the drawers in her counter. Moments later she pulled out a lilac scrunchy, which she skillfully wrapped around the bun to hold it in place. It matched her outfit, which was made up of soft-looking lavender trousers, a white shirt, and lilac jacket. Dan donned the same uniform.

He stood and stretched, folding his own section of the newspaper into quarters. Carelessly, he wandered over to the half-circle of windows behind the table and swatted one of the silk hangings out of the way. The windows looked out into a medium-sized yard. Flower gardens accented each corner of the property, and the lawn was thick and green, though perhaps a little overgrown. At one edge of the yard, there was a very, very small vegetable garden that contained carrots, beans, and cucumbers.

As he let the curtain fall back in its place a bushy-haired girl appeared at the threshold of the kitchen, fully dressed and seemingly alert. "Morning, Mum and Dad," she said before sliding into a seat at the table and happily accepting a cup of tea her mum had pressed into her hands.

"Good morning, Hermione," Dan beamed, and took a seat next to her. Emily, meanwhile, was opening the windows.

"I thought you would be at work by now," Hermione commented, frowning.

"It's Thursday, dear. The office doesn't open until late morning."

"Right." Hermione sighed. "I always get so confused during the summer holidays. Lucky that school starts in a little over a month." She glanced at her identically-dressed parents. "Purple day today?"

"Of course, and tomorrow is yellow," Emily said brightly.

A breakfast of pancakes commenced, and not too much later everyone was bustling around, trying to clean up before both the dentists left. As Hermione and Dan cleared off the table, Emily suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream. Hermione, who was startled, screamed too, and Dan merely jumped and looked around wildly.

There was an owl soaring in circles around the kitchen; apparently, it had come in through the window over the kitchen sink, where Emily had been washing dishes. It was tawny coloured with black tail feathers and large amber eyes. At the moment, no one noticed that there was a thick envelope attached to its leg with a strip of leather. After swooping around the kitchen five or six times, it landed on the table in a clatter of talons. It puffed its chest out and stared at them in a dignified sort of way.

"Sh-should we call Animal Control?" Emily asked shakily as they all stared back at the owl in awe. She had ducked down when the owl had flown in, and was now sitting crouched on the floor, water still flowing steadily from the sink.

Very suddenly, as if the owl had realized that nobody was about to relieve him of his burden, he lowered his head to his right leg and cleanly snipped the leather thong with his beak. He shook it off before glaring at them impressively and taking off again, swerving straight out through the open window.

Cautiously, Hermione approached the table, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the address:

_Miss Hermione Granger  
The Kitchen  
437 Lepska Boulevard  
Higginsbury  
Kidderminster_

"Mum---Dad---it's addressed to me!" she gasped, then tore her gaze from the green ink and yellowed parchment. "Can I open it?"

Dan and Emily exchanged worried glances. How could they trust a letter that had arrived on the leg of an owl? For all they knew it was a plot to hurt their daughter.

"Well---" Emily began, but was cut short when Hermione had taken that as a "yes" and slowly tore open the envelope, taking a moment to look at the wax seal on the back. Inside the envelope there seemed to be ten or eleven page of parchment. Hermione looked at the topmost page and her parents grew more nervous as she began to read faster and faster in her excitement.

When she finished with the first page she looked up at her parents. "I don't know what to say," she said quietly.

"What is it?" Emily asked anxiously. Without a word, Hermione handed the piece of parchment to her parents, who both leaned over it and read:

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress_

Hermione was watching them closely, waiting for a reaction. She was still clutching the other pieces of parchment, her brown eyes abnormally bright with curiosity, anticipation, and excitement.

Emily and Dan finished reading the letter and exchanged exasperated looks. Now the problem was not so much of Hermione's safety as explaining that this letter, tantalizing though it was, was only a hoax. "Hermione, dear, do you really believe this letter is - erm - truthful?"

Hermione's eyes sparked and flamed with anger. "Just because you're adults doesn't mean that you have to squash every supernatural notion in the world," she said bitterly.

"But---"

"Wouldn't this explain all the things I've done that didn't have an explanation before? What about the time those books started chasing Karman down the hall when she tried to force me into doing homework for her? What about the time my bag split and all my homework fell into the water because it was raining, and it was completely destroyed; yet, two hours later, I found it all sitting within my desk, repaired, legible, and dry? How do you explain that?" She seethed for a moment before saying quietly, "Isn't is possible that I'm a witch?"

"Hermione, there's no such ---"

"How can you say that when you don't even know?" And with that, she snatched the parchment out of her father's hand, and whisked the entire envelope and its contents upstairs to her room.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

For some reason, Hermione had a very good feeling about the whole business. She had finally gotten an explanation as to why she could do - or had done - all those strange things. She sincerely believed that there was a wizarding world, and that she belonged in it.

Her parents knocked on her door several times, wanting to talk about it, but Hermione politely refused each time. She needed some time to think. Eventually, her parents said their good-byes (which were muffled through the door) and headed off to work. Hermione spent the entire afternoon reading and rereading all of the pages that had come in the envelope.

One was a list of supplies she would need: books, potions ingredients, a cauldron, scales, school uniforms, and - the most exciting prospect of all - a wand, among other things. The other eight pages explained that she was chosen because she had shown magical abilities even though she was Muggle-born, meaning that she had non-magic parents. They told her where to go to buy her school supplies, how to exchange Muggle money for wizard money, how to get onto the magical platform at King's Cross Station, and a manner of other rules or directions. She also understood, now, what it meant to "send a return owl." Luckily, she still had five more days before July 31 arrived, but there could be a problem as far as _finding _an owl to send her reply.

As she read each page, Hermione was pulled deeper and deeper into the world of magic. She believed it existed, and she would make her parents believe her, too.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

Hermione brought it up at dinner that night again. "I read through the rest of that letter today."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and I have a proposition to make." She turned to her father. "You're going to London this weekend, right?"

Dan looked rather surprised. "Well….yes. For business, though. Only for an hour, if not less. Quite pointless to travel all that way, if you ask me."

"You're taking me." Her parents began to protest, but Hermione cut them off. "Supposedly there is a wizarding shopping center in London. The letter I received explained how to find it. Before you both start scoffing, hear me out, " she added, and both their mouths closed promptly. "We will go investigate it. If it doesn't exist, I will assent to agreeing with you that there is no wizarding world and I am not a witch, and all those strange things that happen to me are just coincidental. If it does exist, you two will consider allowing me to go to this school."

To Hermione's great surprise, they agreed, but they insisted on reading the letter themselves before letting her go to Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's wonderful characters. They all came from her brilliant imagination, and I am not trying to steal or make money off of them.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

One of the things that Hermione loved about her parents was the fact that they never broke their word and always kept their promises. She hated it when parents said something but never followed through, or made a promise but took it back when it came time to act on it. The next Saturday, Hermione was buckled in her father's little blue car, her mother in the passenger seat, as they made their way down to London. Hermione was clutching the envelope that contained all the information that she needed; school supplies, how to get into Diagon Alley, how to make an exchange at Gringotts, and the currency system, among others. She was unbelievably excited, even if she did have to wait an hour for her dad to finish whatever business he had. To give herself something to do, she asked her mother to give her the road map of London in the glove box. She spent most of her time pouring over it; she'd quickly figured out exactly how to get to The Leaky Cauldron, even if reading in the car made her a little carsick.

"Darling, what if none of this is real? Don't set your heart on something that may not even exist, because if it doesn't you'll be sadly disappointed," her mother warned from the front seat.

"Don't worry, Mum. I have a really good feeling about this," Hermione replied firmly. "Why on earth would anyone go through this much trouble, into this much detail, just to play a practical joke on me? It exists, I just know it."

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

After impatiently waiting within an extremely boring building for an hour, Hermione eagerly yanked her parents out into the streets and began to walk in the right direction. She had memorized every street, every corner, and every shortcut that led to The Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, the building her father had done business in wasn't terribly far away, so they had just decided to walk. Hermione was still clinging to her envelope full of information, as though she feared that a ferocious gust of wind would rip it right out of her hands.

Finally, they'd reached the street she was looking for. Almost ready to burst into a run with excitement, she looked back at her parents, who nodded patiently. Hermione looked both directions on her way down the road, waiting for just the right shop. Alternately, she glanced at the piece of parchment she had extracted from the envelope that gave exact directions of how to get into Diagon Alley, making sure she remembered the names precisely.

Very suddenly, she stopped.

"Here," she declared.

"Dear, there's only a bookshop and a record store, no 'Leaky Cauldron'," her father insisted.

"But it says it's here," Hermione said, scanning the parchment anxiously.

"We told you not to get your hopes up," Emily consoled her gently. "It's all just a hoax."

"No," said Hermione, her spirit deflating a little bit. "Here, it says that we have to wait a moment."

So they waited, her parents feeling like idiots as they stood in the middle of the walkway, staring at a brick wall. People bustled around them, arms loaded with shopping bags and beverage containers. Suddenly, Hermione lunged forward.

"Yes!" she shouted, and her parents exchanged a nervous glance as they watched her try to open the façade as if it were a door. But they looked back and – amazingly – Hermione was holding open a wooden door. Above it there was a sign reading "The Leaky Cauldron," which was swinging back and forth dangerously. Hermione was noiselessly gesturing for them to come, and after standing in shock for a minute, the moved toward their daughter.

"Hermione, can't anybody else – ˝

"No, Mum, only us." The three of them stood in the doorway for a moment, watching as people walked straight past the secret building, oblivious. Then Hermione tugged at her father's sleeve and they turned around, closing the door behind them. The Leaky Cauldron was a dark, dingy little bar. It would have seemed quite normal had its occupants not been wearing long robes in an assortment of colour, tables hadn't cleaned themselves up, and goblets hadn't refilled themselves. Hermione took it all in, transfixed by her first impression of real magic. As she looked around, she noticed an older man making his way toward them.

"Muggles?" he asked, looking down at Hermione.

"Erm…excuse me?" her father inquired, puzzled.

"Non-magical people, father," Hermione hissed, then replied to the other man," Yes, sir. And you must be Tom, according to the letter. How did you – ˝

"Got a lot of Muggle-born Hogwarts students, especially this time of year. It's easy to tell. Yes, my name is Tom. I'm the innkeeper as well as an assistant to new Muggle students. Dumbledore appointed me to get you on your way. So, first things first." Tom raised his eyebrow. "I must see your letter."

Hermione handed him the envelope and its contents. He looked through all of it, as though making sure it was genuine, then gave it back. "Right this way, please," he said, and briskly walked to the back of his shop. Hermione followed, her parents stumbling along dazedly behind her. He led them out a door, and there they found themselves facing – a brick wall.

"This is the entrance into Diagon Alley. You won't be able to open it yourself until you can properly use a wand, but for now I can help you get in and out. What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't," Hermione replied quickly. "My name is Hermione, and these zombies behind me that call themselves my parents are Dan and Emily."

Tom nodded at each of them in turn, them mumbled to himself as he pulled a thin piece of wood out of his robes. He tapped one of the bricks with it, and stood back to let them watch the bricks melt away into a gate. Hermione gasped; the city beyond the entrance was the most beautiful she had ever seen. She stepped forward and into the town, gazing around at all of it.

"Hermione," her mother said sharply, and Hermione turned to face her.

"Mum, look at it," Hermione replied in a hushed voice. "What are you waiting for?"

But her parents were still standing stock-still at the entrance, Tom looking on as though amused. "Don't worry," he chuckled, awkwardly patting Hermione's father's arm, "it takes a lot of folks to get used to the fact that a whole new world unfolds before their very eyes. But you'll get used to it." He bobbed back into the tavern, leaving Hermione and her parents standing on opposite sides of the gateway.

"Mum, Dad, let's go." Hermione reached for their hands and dragged them away; the brick wall melted back into play. Emily and Dan followed numbly on either side of her, staring at everything in sight.

Hermione lost interest in what her parents were doing soon enough. She was much too busy gazing through the windows of all the shops. They passed Eeylops Owl Emporium, which was filled with an assortment of owls that blinked and hooted dolefully at her as she passed. Flourish and Blotts was filled with every kind of book imaginable. Hermione eyed them hungrily, itchy to get her nose into all of them before she realized that she still need money. She reluctantly passed them by, looking forward to when she could return. They saw Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, which featured flavors of ice cream Hermione had never heard of before. Then there was Quality Quidditch Supplies, which sported flying broomsticks. Hermione made a note to herself to look up what exactly "Quidditch" was.

At this point, her frozen parents began to thaw. "How could we have never known about…all this?" her mother asked, awed. "How is it that a whole different world lies beyond our own, and we never even knew?"

"Mum, you can't tell a soul," Hermione pleaded. "No one can know where I've gone, no one can know that wizardry exists. No one can know that I'm…I'm a witch." There. She'd said it.

Emily sighed. "Very well. I've kept secrets before, and I can do it again.

Hermione's father smiled wryly. "So, where to first?"

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWM

Author's Note: Yay! Two chapters in one week! Gotta admit you're proud of me. I'm planning on working on some fictions next…but if I got two chapters done in one week, maybe I'll be faster anyway. Hope you enjoyed it, and please, please, please review! Muchas gracias!


End file.
